A python is a
very large snake with a bad reputation. It is a constrictor, which means
that it has to catch its lunch without the benefit of poison. It is not
a fast moving snake, so the python will lay in the grass along a game
trail and hope some animal will come by which is small enough to swallow.

The python has
one feature which helps catch the lunch-- two hooks near its tail. The
python will strike with its tail, unlike poisonous snakes which strike
with their mouth and fangs. The python flings its tail at its prey, and
if the hooks catch in the animal, the python uses them as an anchor for
leverage. The python will quickly wrap itself in coils around the animal
and slowly squeeze its prey until it cannot breath. The prey suffocates
from lack of breath.

After this, the
python swallows its prey whole. This critter, unlike good boys and girls,
does not cut its food into smaller bites, nor does it chew its food. The
jaws of the python come unjointed so that it can open its mouth very wide.
If you see a python in the zoo, you will wonder how its small mouth can
open wide enough to swallow an animal. In fact, a python about 15 feet
long can swallow a whole goat.

Pythons can live
in pretty good health by eating only once a year. They will eat more often
if given the opportunity. The pythons can grow to be as long as 20 feet,
though not many that long have been reported. Pythons do not stalk people.
They would if they could swallow them for tiffin, but humans are too big.

Pythons can be
dangerous to people though, which brings us to our fist story:

Arussi farmer--
We were missionaries in the Arussi Galla area of Ethiopia. We lived on
the southern shore of Lake Langano, a large lake on the Rift Valley floor
which was a safe lake to swim in. Many pythons lived along the lake shore
in the tall grass and reeds because lots of lunch (small animals) came
down to the lake to drink.

The Arussi people
were the tribe which lived around the lake where we lived. They were not
progressive in some ways, but they were very clever and hard working in
the old ways of Africa. They grew mostly corn (maize if you are from the
UK) as a staple crop. The pythons also liked to get in their corn fields.
If the farmers could kill them they would because the pythons could catch
goats from their flocks and eat them.

One farmer tried
to kill a python in his field, as he had safely done several times before.
But, this python was very big and long. It whipped its tail at him, caught
him with its hooks near its tail, and quickly wrapped itself around the
man. The man did not have a hand free or a knife, or he could have cut
the python in two and escaped. The python slowly crushed the man. Friends
heard him call for help and rushed to save him. But, by the time they
got there, the python had crushed the man's ribs and they punctured his
lungs. He soon died.

So, if you go
wandering about in Africa, you will want to carry a big knife or machete.
People in the USA and Europe think carrying a knife is only for criminals.
This is rather silly, for a large knife can be very handy.

Luo--
The Luo are tribe of people long ago came down the Nile, probably from
the Nubian area in Sudan. They are very black, and they are very industrious.
But, they have some very strange customs. One of their favorite dishes
is python. I have eaten rattle snake, and I can tell you that snake meat
is very tasty-- a lot like fried chicken.

When the Luo find
a python they kill it, clean it, and throw it up on the roof of their
house in the sun. This tenderizes the python, though some of them leave
the python on the roof a bit too long I think. To cook python, or any
cleaned and skinned snake, slice it across the snake into steaks. Roll
it in flour and fry it. The meat is a bit rich, so some mint jelly or
a light sauce would be in order. Lemon wedges can be helpful. Bon appetite.

Frank (Pop) Manning--
When I was growing up in Tanzania, Pop Manning was a missionary friend
of ours, and he wanted a photograph of a python to show his friends back
in the USA. One day his house worker came running and told him there was
a python outside the home. The African wanted Pop Manning to kill the
python because Africans fear all snakes, even the harmless ones.

Pop Manning ran
for his camera instead of his gun, and when he got to the spot where the
python was, it was frightened and slowly moving off of the road into the
tall grass. Pop Manning wanted a photo so badly that he set his camera
down and ran and grabbed the python by the tail. He pulled it out of the
grass back onto the road a ways, and then he told us that the python seemed
to tense up, grab the ground somehow, and started dragging Pop Manning
along as it returned to the grass.

Pope Manning finally
had to let go. It is amazing to realize that the snake goes along on its
belly with no legs, but that python still could out pull Pop Manning.
He was in no danger as long as he held the python's tail, for it could
not whip the tail to catch him with its hooks.

So, if you see
a python, and you want to take it home with you, be sure to grab it by
the tail. Pythons WILL bite, although they have no poison. Many people
think a snake bite by a nonpoisonous snake is not serious. In fact, a
snake's mouth is loaded with bacteria, and a snake bite should be cleaned
out very well and disinfected. A shot of penicillin would be in order.

While we are on
the topic, you need to know that fully one third of all the people bitten
by poisonous snakes were trying to kill them. If a poisonous snake is
in your yard, you need to kill it, but if you are out in the woods or
the desert and see a poisonous snake, just leave it alone. You are not
doing anyone a favor by killing it, and you are taking a large risk.